Lain

Source: Link

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A HIGH school pupil shot dead eight people in Tuusula, southern Finland, and then shot and wounded himself, police said.

“Five boys, two girls and one adult woman were killed,” Police Chief Matti Tohkanen told a news conference, later identifying the woman as the principal of the school.

A teacher at Jokela High School told Reuters the gunman was one of its pupils.

Police surrounded the school and a city official announced shortly before midnight that the siege was over.

Police say the gunman shot himself, but was still alive and in hospital.

At least three other people are wounded.

"One person in critical condition was brought to a hospital in Helsinki as well," Dr Hirvensalo said.

The YouTube video is entitled Jokela High School Massacre - 11/7/2007 and was posted by a user called Sturmgeist89.

“Sturmgeist” means storm spirit in German.

The video is set to hard-driving music and shows a still photo of a school that appears to be Jokela High School.

The photo then fragments to reveal a red-tinted picture of a man pointing a gun at the camera.

A user of the same name posted several videos two weeks ago, all with a theme of terrorism, massacres and genocide.

Among the videos posted include a tribute to Columbine killer Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, a tribute to US terrorist the Unabomber, a selection of scenes from Schindler's List in which Jews are tortured and killed and a post glorifying the last days of the Twin Towers.

One of those shot was the school principal, said Tuula Panula, spokeswoman for the Tuusula municipality, some 60km from the Finnish capital Helsinki.

“He (the gunman) was moving systematically through the school hallways, knocking on the doors and shooting through the doors,” Kim Kiuru, a teacher at the school, said at the scene.

“It felt unreal, a pupil I have taught myself was running towards me, screaming, a pistol in his hand.”

Junior Constable Olli Laine said police surrounded the building, which houses both a middle school and high school, had evacuated students.

Mr Kiuru, who was teaching a grade 8 class when the shooting started, said he helped his pupils escape the building through the classroom windows.

Despite having the third-largest per capita ratio of handgun ownership in the world, violent incidents are rare at Finnish schools.

According to Finnish media, there have been four stabbings at schools since 1999.

None of these caused fatalities.

The last major attack in the country came in 2002 when a young man killed including himself and six others in a bomb blast at a shopping mall in Helsinki.
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Sad to say, as much as I'm aware of how potential shooters make videos about their plans, I just find it rather idiotic to post your videos in a place where everyone can easily see it.

Anna-Liisa

This is really sad. We've been to school normally, but it has affected a lot of us here. It's the thought that "These things don't and can't happen in Finland", but everything's possible.

I live in Southern Finland, but not near Jokela or Tuusula, but still quite close. It's just unbelievable, sad and really... really just something I couldnt have imagined happening.

It was now reported that the shooter has died, too.

elisheva

School shootings are really frightening. I hope the students will be getting counselling etc made available to those who need it and so on.

But I guess only if you're specifically looking for it, you know? It's totally possible to have something posted on YT and have it never be seen by anyone, I think.

Anna-Liisa

We do have a lot of help coming. Even schools that weren't affected have counceling and help here. Finland opened it's eyes and even the president said that mental problems need to be solved better to prevent events like this.

Lain

Perhaps. Depends on how you tag it and all. We'll never know now because his account is suspended.

And the closest you can get with not making your videos public is to have it viewed by those on your friend's list